Tuesday, July 07, 2009

The road to Ledezma: passing through Canossa or Damascus?

Although I do not particularly care for Ledezma I have never underestimated him. The hunger strike he started last week end is looking like a much bigger success than he probably expected himself. Not only he got OAS secretary Insulza finally to return a phone call, but he is going on with his hunger strike as the who's who of Venezuela opposition fights to be seen at Ledezma's hunger bedside. Suddenly the Ledezma hunger strike is looking like a cathartic moment for all involved.

Insulza who has to sense that his image is getting worse daily as now Costa Rica is asked to be the mediator in the Honduran fiasco decided to call Ledezma and invite him over to Washignton DC along the governors of Venezuela who are harassed daily by Chavez. I am pretty sure that tonight some china will be broken at Miraflores, no matter what a fat check Chavez may or may not have sent Insulza's way (reelection votes count in the scheme since oil checks to tiny banana republics/islands can be transformed into OAS votes). For Insulza the road to Ledezma goes through Canossa. At least until he can come up with something to deflect the attention.

Ledezma is starting to garner a few headlines, not much yet, but how can you compete with Michael Jackson funeral and the Honduras flying circus? However inside Venezuela it has given the opposition increasing strength in daring not to toe the Chavez line on Honduras. It seems to work as clearly symbols like Raul Castro talking democracy in Managua or a Venezuelan plane as the personal taxi ride of Zelaya do not go down well with some within the chavista electorate. At any rate it seems that linking the Honduras coup to the coup against Ledezma by Chavez is working better than linking the Honduras coup to whatever Chavez is trying to link it to. On this respect notice how chavista sites spend on Ledezma, be it tackyly at Vheadline or angry ignorance at Aporrea, duly obsessed by everything Honduras per its leader orders. Clearly they do not seem aware that they have been placed on a road.

But the opposition is finding its road to Damascus. Ledezma seems to single handedly do more than anyone else for the opposition unity than anyone else before he went in hunger strike. New born again unity preachers are declaring from the OAS legation doors. Maybe leaders are afraid that Ledezma will become the leader of the opposition, maybe they do not want to be left behind if he becomes the leader of the the opposition, maybe they kiss him Judas like before they find a way to stab him, but all go to the Caracas OAS embassy to pay their respects, and I mean this choice of words, to Ledezma.

At least within the opposition the hunger strike of Ledezma has been a fabulous success in pro of political unity against Chavez. Let's see how well it holds, hoping that many wake up to the chinks appearing in Chavez Teflon armor, faults exploitable only though concerted strategy.

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